Show some respect
The details of the Qing Ming festival will amaze you, says Lim Swee Hong.
"In
the season of Qing Ming, rain falls in scattered showers," begins
one classic Tang poem. Of old, the mention of Qing Ming has evoked a
special kind of weather - a brief time in the third lunar month when
the early spring rains and breezes wash the earth, and the air is "clear
and bright" - the literal meaning of the name.
Celebrated by Chinese for thousands of years, it's a day for paying
respects to ancestors and the dead - an aspect of Qing Ming that continues
till today. It also teaches respect for one's elders.
However, there are other details to this festival and our poll shows
that it's these that people are a little fuzzy about. Try out our quiz
yourself.
Q. Qing Ming is a festival about
a. remembering the dead - 100%
b. lovers, like the Chinese Valentine's day
c. ghosts coming back to earth
d. the triumph of good over evil
The answer: a. Nowadays in Singapore, the main event of Qing
Ming is a trip to the cemetery or temple to clean the resting places
of dead relatives. But in early China, Qing Ming started out as an agricultural
spring celebration. When the practices of ancestor worship came about,
Qing Ming became a holiday.
Q. Which season is Qing Ming always associated
with?
a. Spring - 80%
b. Summer - 10%
c. Autumn -10%
d. Winter
The answer: a.
Q. Which other
Chinese festival is Qing Ming closely related to?
a. Dragon Boat festival - 10%
b. Winter Solstice
c. Cold Food festival - 70%
d. White Snake festival - 20%
The answer: c. In olden times, Cold Food festival fell on the
eve of Qing Ming, in honour of the Duke of Wei's loyal official Jie
Zitui who cut off a piece of his thigh to feed the starving Duke while
the latter was in exile.
